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Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide

This guide was created as an overview of the Linux Operating System, geared toward new users as an exploration tour and getting started guide, with exercises at the end of each chapter.
For more advanced trainees it can be a desktop reference, and a collection of the base knowledge needed to proceed with system and network administration. This book contains many real life examples derived from the author's experience as a Linux system and network administrator, trainer and consultant. They hope these examples will help you to get a better understanding of the Linux system and that you feel encouraged to try out things on your own.

I've just moved off shared hosting on to my own dedicated server. I used to use my shared hostings smtp/pop but now would like to set up my own. I've got moderate linux knowledge, as i've been running a debian desktop for a few years now, and also run a few centos & rhel servers for work (i really just watch the flashing lights and keep them up to date).

But I'm a little confused about the different mail packages out there... There Courier, Cyrus, Dovecot. I've read good things about dovecot, some suggesting that its very stable for a 0.9x release, and easy to configure...

Preferably, I want something simple, but not lacking in features, imap is a must (I format too often to have pop & I like to have sync'd emails across many pc's), and I would like a web interface, or something easy for me to manage (we have 100+ email accounts) and easily changing passwords (if forgotten by the user), disk quota, etc. etc.

I know this is a lot of "wants" but if I could get something with some of what i'm after i'll be happy!

It really depends on your taste. There are so many to pick from. You realize that you will need a combination of packages. An MTA (sendmail, postfix, exim, qmail), an MDA (dovecot, courier, cyrus) and an MTA (horde, squirrelmail). Each has it's ups and downs but they all pretty much perform the same functions. The simplest ones are the easiest to setup and they tend to have more documentation on the net. Hence, dovecot, postfix, squirrelmail - realiable for most small businesses. I prefer cyrus over dovecot, especially for very big installations, but it is much more complicated. Let me know if you need help.

1. Postfix is a breeze to get up and running. And then once it is up, it is extremely customizable. There is so much stuff you can do with postfix it is truly incredible. I have Spam Assassin integrated into postfix so that it tags probably spam before it delivers it to the users Maildirs. I also have a grey list DB running to cut down on even more spam. Love postfix!

2.Dovecot is also easy to setup and if you want a secure IMAP/POP3, than dovecot is your boy. Even if you don't want to use its SSL/TLS mechanisms for security, dovecot still runs great and it very stable. They just released a new RC last week so make sure if you download dovecot you get v1.0 RC29.

3. Squirrel is used so that I (and my users) can get their mail via a browser. Another easy to setup program. I even purchased and SSL certificate so that they log onto the server with SSL encryption and check their mail over a secured connection. Pretty cool, huh? :-)

BTW, your users can also pretty much use any MDA of their choice (Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, etc... with dovecot). They don't have to use Squirrel but it is very cool to give them the option to check their mail via a web browser.

Sendmail, is waaay to complicated for my small mind to wrap around. Courier, while easier than sendmail, is also fairly complicated (and big!!). Don't think you can go wrong with Postfix for your MTA at least. Al